US Old Magic will be released in the Summer of 2022

Old Magic

About Old Magic

Old Magic was first published in the year 2000, by Bloomsbury Publishing London, in the UK, Australia and New Zealand; and also in the USA by Simon & Schuster, and has been translated into more than 12 international languages.

Kate is at a loss. She meets a boy with curious powers and a bizarre history – but he thinks he is very ordinary. How can she convince him that he has a gift, a gift that he must use to unravel mysteries that have hung over his family for generations? And even if she does persuade him, will his talents prove powerful enough to overcome what lies ahead?

Old Magic is published by Simon & Schuster, website link below, and is available in e-book format from most online stores.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Old-Magic/Marianne-Curley/9781416989912

Two Italian covers for Old Magic 

Video on You Tube called One Love to Give – Kate and Jarrod by MundaneMuggle – See other videos she has produced.

Kate & Jarrod Video  – Old Magic Fan Video

REVIEWS

VOYA 2010 – “Having grown up with her grandmother Jillian, a practicing witch and healer, sixteen-year-old Kate recognizes power when she sees it. So when newly arrived Jarrod unleashes a windstorm in biology class, Kate steps in, calms him down, and gets him out of there before anyone else realizes what has happened. What surprises her, however, is how oblivious he is to his power and to the curse of disorder and disaster that has dogged his family for centuries. Not only that, but Jarrod is also angrily adamant that magic does not exist. As evidence to the contrary mounts, Jarrod decides to accept Jillian’s help, and Kate and Jarrod travel back in time to 1252 to the English castle of Thorntyne and Jarrod’s ancestors, Lord Richard and his estranged half-brother, the sorcerer Rhauk. There Jarrod must overcome his reluctance to claim his power, or Kate will die at Rhauk’s hands and neither will see their present-day families again. Alternating narration between Kate and Jarrod, this novel provides dual perspectives on reality and relationships in a tale where the known competes with the unexpected and reason wars with emotion. With a solid story comprised of several age-old themes of fantasy and adventure as well as a savvy female nudging a clueless male protagonist into claiming his birthright, the book will appeal to young readers interested in magic, adventure and budding romance.”

Jess Kidding Books – Dec 3, 2011 – 5 of 5 stars – bookshelves: best-books-ever

“** spoiler alert ** I read this book almost ten years ago, but I still count it at the very, very top of my list of favorite books. There are a number of authors and books that have helped build my reading preferences, but “Old Magic” is the book that created my preference of Young Adult fiction. This book sets a bar that I judge almost every book I read by. Marianne Curley has written a novel that to this day I can describe in vivid detail, partially because this boos, the Harry Potter series, and The Hunger Games trilogy are the only books I crave to read over and over. This is a book about magic–original, imagination commanding magic–that stays on track, that goes just far enough, but not too far into the land of the fantastical. This is a book about love–heart-wrenching, knee-shaking love–that holds back the absolutely perfect amount, that is so realistic and astonishing when set against the back drop of the world and powers Curley creates. This is a book full of characters, stories, and lives that come to life with every turn of the page. Unlike other Young Adult authors (who shall not be named in this review), the author creates characters so intensely fitting, so true to the story–but without being perfect. The characters has real flaws, the characters have real lives, the characters have real and raw emotions; all of which ooze within the book’s pages. This is not a novel that involves intervention and magical means for no reason, the characters aren’t just thrown together–Jarrod seeks Kate and her grandmother out with purpose. Kate genuinely cares and falls for him in a true to life fashion–she doesn’t become obsessed with no cause. And Jarrod seeks popularity and acceptance the way any teen who has moved to a new town will relate to. The curse is a tale passed down generations, the same as stories in everyone’s family. And Kate and her grandmother agree to help–not because Kate has a crush, but because it is their job, their passion and purpose to help people with their talents. Even the aspects that take place in the past keep true to the story, true to the vulnerability and raw feelings that the characters (and most people) have at all times. When I first read “Old Magic” I would feel build-ups to many moments and climaxes of the plot, thinking at first that it would be a predictable, one-size-fits-ass story line. It wasn’t. Curley maintains the base of the people she has invented, in another book it would be certain that the young couple, ripe with new feelings and freedom in the past, would be met with amazing things, and would fall deeply in love within moments of landing. But Jarrod and Kate spend their first moments in the mud, their first night on a hay bed filled with lice and bugs. Their closeness that takes place is the proper style for them.

This review may sound a little laudable–but I assure you, this book is moving, it pulls you in and stays in your mind for years.”

Review: Old Magic by Marianne Curley”>Inside My Worlds: R.L.Sharpe, 29th July, 2013

Review: Simply Nerdy Friday, February 13, 2009

Review: School Library Journal, Molly S Kinney, for Gr 7-9, 1st May, 2002 – “When Jarrod Thornton walks into the classroom, Kate Warren instantly senses that he is as different as she is. In anger, he unknowingly unleashes a storm in the science lab and Kate realizes that he has exceptional paranormal abilities that exceed her own. As an uneasy friendship forms, she helps Jarrod confront and internalize his talents. With her grandmother’s help, the teens journey back to the Middle Ages and break the curse that has controlled the Thornton family for generations. On one level, this is a story about paranormal abilities, curses, and time travel. Deeper, it’s an account of feeling different, friendship, and acceptance. The story is much like a train ride. The plot is fast and smooth and the characters’ developing friendship is akin to the train’s slowing and coming to a station stop. However, the language derails it until readers become used to the “Aussie-isms” throughout the text. (There is a glossary at the back of the book, but it is not all-inclusive.) It is obvious that Curley researched the architecture, peoples, and customs of the Middle Ages, and she skillfully integrates this information into the story. The characters are believable and are the strength of this first novel. While the message that it’s all right to be different and to accept yourself for who you are is evident throughout, it’s not overly dominant. Curley is definitely an author to watch. (Molly S. Kinney, Office of Public Library Services, Atlanta, GA School Library Journal,  vol 48, issue 5, p148)

Five Starred Review in Barnes & Noble by: paws1985, 21st March, 2009
“I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. While I know some people don’t like stories that switch from person to person on who is telling the story, this book does an excellent job switching between Kate and Jarrod’s perspectives and the events that happen to them. If you like magic and fantasy I highly recommend Old Magic.”

Four Starred Review in Barnes & Noble by: jmbownes, 27th September, 2011
“Very fun read – These are real teenagers, not glitzy Hollywood phonies. They may be facing mystical problems, but there actions and reactions seem realistic and believable. I had a lot of fun reading this one!”

Jul 14, 2013 Dearne rated it 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads
“I really loved this book! I came across it when I was in high school and I thought hmm why not. and I loved it so much 🙂 I don’t remember when I read it but I’m guessing it was 2009.”